While reading Anne Jackson's latest book, Permission to Speak Freely, she mentioned that there was a difference between admission and confession.
That got me thinking....so, I looked up admission and confession in a dictionary. This is what I found:
Admission: acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true
Confession: a written or oral acknowledgment of guilt by a party accused of an offense
There is a huge difference here. Especially when it comes to dealing with sin, hurt, fear, etc.
I can admit something is true and never deal with it. I can admit I struggled with porn in my past. Yet if all I ever did was admit it, well I am no better off and neither is my relationship with my wife or with God. No, I have to confess that I struggled with porn. Confession means I am guilty. It also means that I need to deal with my actions. I do that through repentance.
I can admit I struggle with fear. I can also confess my struggle. When I confess it I am saying that I am guilty of disobeying God's Word which tells us to Fear Not! I can then repent of my fear and allow my confession to draw me closer to God.
I can admit that I was hurt by someone in the past and move on. Confession means I have to deal with the hurt. I might have to forgive that person. I might have to repent of gossip. I might even need to seek reconciliation.
Admission requires nothing. We live in a world where people admit all kinds of things. Usually their admission is acknowledged and people are praised for their honesty...but nothing really happens.
Confession requires action. It requires us to admit wrong, or wrong done towards us. It might require repentance or forgiveness, restoration or reconciliation.
My prayer is that we, as God's children, practice confession. I would love to see us model James 5:16, That we confess our sins one to another and pray for one another. It won't be easy. It means through relationship we build trust with someone. Imagine though, imagine what would happen if we confess to one another and turn our hearts towards God! If we repent, restore and relate, not only will our hearts be transformed...but so will the world around us.
Boggles the mind.
6 comments:
hmm it kinda seems like admission is saying, "yeah, so what"
God's pardon is so much more profound when we realize in confession how badly we need it! ~ Stan
Thanks Guys. Both of you are right on!
perfect explanation
when we confess our sins to God through a priest, the priest will forgive our sin thru Christ. according to the bible, "if we confess our sins and God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." -1 john1:9
Vincy, sadly you are misled. You do not need a priest to communicate with God for you. The bible clearly states that Jesus is our high priest and we can access God and approach him boldly and with confidence. The verse you quoted, in context, actually means that you can confess your sins directly to God yourself and because of who he is, he will forgive you.
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